Rep. party failures of recent years (part 1)

America’s most critical priorities – emergency preparedness, economic security, access to affordable health care, quality education, and energy independence – have become an afterthought in the wake of recent years of Republican culture and domestic as well as foreign politics.

Let’s take a 360-degree look at it in two parts (part one tackling economic issues, health care and education while part two will cover civil rights, homeland security and environmental policies of Republicans).

Overtime Pay: Bush administration changed the rules that decide who is eligible for overtime pay. The changes affected some eight million workers. Millions of working people now face unpredictable work schedules and reduced pay because their employers may not have to pay a premium for demanding that they work more than 40 hours a week. Wages have declined, even as the cost of health care, child care, and other essential expenses has continued to climb;

Minimum Wage: For the eighth year in a row, Republicans have failed to raise the minimum wage. Minimum wage employees working 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year, earn $10,700 a year, $5,000 below the poverty line for a family of three. It is practically impossible for minimum wage workers to afford adequate housing in any area of the country;

Tax Credits For Employers of Reservists: Republican policies render employers reluctant to take military reservists (who can be called for 24 months at a time) on the payroll by having blocked attempts to introduce policies of rewarding businesses that continue to pay salaries to their employees serving oversees.

Immigrant Children’s Health Care: Republicans have failed to enact the Immigrant Children’s Health Improvement Act (ICHIA), which would allow states to cover legal immigrant children and pregnant women under Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). The current prohibition on covering these people unfairly singles them out for restricted access to public health coverage programs;

Higher Education Act: Republicans partially reauthorized the Higher Education Act as part of budget reconciliation. While the bill included some additional financial aid for students eligible for Pell Grants, the new aid fails to prioritize the neediest students and imposes new hurdles. Republicans passed up on an enormous opportunity to make college more affordable, instead using saving from greater efficiency in the student loan program to partially offset the budget deficit and other expenses;

Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Dream Act: Republicans did not allow the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Dream (DREAM) Act to pass, which would allow states to offer in-state tuition to immigrant students and also allow long-time immigrants who grow up in the United States, graduate from high school, and demonstrate strong moral character, the opportunity to adjust their immigrant status. Although the DREAM Act enjoys broad bipartisan support, Republicans failed to bring the bill to the Senate floor.